I would be surprised if you have gotten through deployments without any tears. Tears when your spouse left; tears during the long months of separation; tears at special occasions when your loved one’s presence is especially missed . . . tears matter. Tears matter to God.

"That's a great idea--I would have never thought of that!" A young Army wife shared with me something she had done to help prepare her family for her husband's upcoming deployment. Before her husband left for Iraq she had taken a picture of him with their children in each room of the house, and then framed them for displaying. The house was filled with Dad’s presence—reminders of times when they were together. This wife knew that in the days and months ahead there would be moments when both she and the kids would wonder--is he really real? He feels so far away--he is so far away! But the pictures were there to bring back the memories of his presence in their everyday lives.

Jesus was talking to a gathering of followers and just after telling them that they were like salt, He also told them that they were like light.  They were salt because God used them to preserve those around them, but they were also light because through them, Jesus intended them to illuminate the truth of who God is.  What is interesting to me in these verses is that Jesus doesn’t suggest that a city in a valley or a light under a bowl has any less light, He just focuses on what to do with the light.  This is a call to do more with what we have.